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Roger loses thriller-final

Roger's reign in Wimbledon has been interrupted today as he lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal 4-6, 4-6 ,7-6, 7-6 and 7-9.

"I tried everything - but Rafa is a deserving champion. It's a pity I couldn't win it in the circumstances but I'll be back," Roger said.

It was a most thrilling match, with Roger recovering from two sets down to force a fifth but he was eventually beaten in a near five-hour epic that was twice delayed by rain. Both players showed magnificent tennis but Roger failed to grasp several opportunities for re-breaks. Still he made Nadal work hard and was clearly in no mood to surrender his title, playing strong to win both tie-breaks.

And so it came down to the fifth set, which is not ended by a tie-break in Wimbledon, should the score come to 6-6. Trading blows like champion boxers, Nadal finally converted his fourth break point chance at 7-7 to set up the opportunity to serve out for the Championship. On his fourth match point, he forced one final error from Roger, and collapsed to the turf in triumph.

Our champ, who converted only one of 13 break points in the match, fell short in his bid to set two historic landmarks: He failed to surpass Björn Borg by winning a sixth consecutive title or match Willie Renshaw's all-time record of six in a row from 1881-86. Nadal won his fifth Grand Slam title, adding to his four consecutive French Open championships. Roger, meanwhile, remains two shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam wins and still has a lead of 545 points in the ranking.

Dear Roger,
These days I hear everyone talking about the epic final you played last week. Even people who don't know anything about tennis, but know your name. What you have done to tennis is of the greatest value, bringing it to people's everyday life,

Dear Roger,
i am extremely proud to be your fan and i admire your fighting and never-give-up spirit so much. Although the result is not to our liking and no doubt i have cried terribly when you lost, i just want to say that YOU ARE ALWAYS THE ONE AND ON

Dear Roger, the Deserving One, yes, I am convinced that "your reign was interrupted" and that "you will be back." It would be more suitable however to have a real grass play on a real grass court! This way, it doesn't feel right at all; this was not a rea

dear sir,
its completely superb at the fact that you were able to break back afetr losing the first two serves.its simply amazing.
thank you for proving us the the most amazing tennis of this year.namaste!

hi Roger, haven't been able to gather my thoughts all week to write something that would make sense. Last Sunday did not make sense to me. Problem is, for the last, almost, decade i have become so used to seeing you win and when a year like this one unfol